Railway-signal.



BATENTBD 1330.25, 1906.

AFL. GARPENTER. RAILWAY SIGNAL.

urmouron FILED 8EPT.19,1905.

2 BKI-ZETS-SEEBT 2.

ARICOLA L. CARPENTER, OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK.

RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

Application filed September 19,1905. Serial No, 279,118.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARICOLA L. CARPEN- TER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mount Vernon, in the county of Vestchester, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Signals and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to electropneumatic railroad signaling apparatus.

One object of the invention is to provide means for indicating the distance of a railroad-train from any station or point along the line of road.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of mechanism alon the line of the road wherein an element of the mechanism is actuated by the wheels of the train and through the instrumentality of connections between said mechanism and an annunciator or the like at a distant point determine the distance -of a railroad-train from the station or point along the line of road at which the annunciator or other mechanism is arranged.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of an electropneumatic mechanism associated with the road-bed and a station or other point, whereby the location of a train may be determined automatically from a distant point.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the present invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of my invention illustrating a track and tie with which my improved mechanism is associated. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line a a of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the track-valve casin including the cap and valve-heads, together with the valve-stem, adjustingmut, and helical-spring connection. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail perspective view of the air-cylinder. Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view on the line Z) I) of Fig. 1. a plan view of a modified form of lever. 7 is an elevational view of Fig. 6.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, the reference characters 1 and 2 designate a rail and tie, respectively, these elements being of the usual or of any appropriate construction and arrangement.

A valve-casin 3, having rear side flanges 4, is secured to the web 5 or other part of the rail through the instrumentality of bolts or the like 6. The forward part of the valve is curved into neck form, as at 7, and provided with a screw-threaded perforation 8, leading into the chamber of the valve, there being a hose-pipe connection 9, having a nipple l0 fitted in one end, which latter is fitted in the screw-threaded opening 8 of the neck 7 of the valve 3, the opposite end of the hose-pipe 9 having a nipple 11 secured thereto, upon which fits a union-nut 12, adapted to embrace a nipple 13, secured in the bottom of the air-cylinder 14, which latter is disposed upon the tie 2 preferably directly opposite the valve 3 and is provided with a base-flange 14, having perforations 15 therein, through which are passed suitable fastenings 16 for securing the air-cylinder tightly upon the tie.

The valve casing 3 has its upper end turned upwardly, as at 16, and provided with a central perforation 17, through which latter is passed a screw-threaded stem 18 of a cap 19, the beveled inner end of the upwardlyturned portion 16 of the top of the valve re sulting in a seat 20 interiorly of the valvecasing for the proper seating of the valvehead 21, secured upon the screw-threads of the stem 18 and held agamst accidental displacement by means of the nut 22. It will be observed that the under surface of the cap 19 is hollowed, as at 23, whereby the extremities 24 of the cap-head may embrace the upwardly-turned portion 16 of the valve-cylinder whenever the cap 19 is depressed for a purpose presently explained. The lower end of the valvehead 21 is reduced to form the shoulders 25, with which latter engages ahelical spring 26, whose lower end rests directly upon the bottom of the valve-casing, as clearly shown in the drawings, the tendency of the said helical spring being to force the inclined upper face of the valvehead 21 into engagement with the correspondingly i11- clined face of the top of the valve cylinder or Fig. 6 is Fig.

IUO

casing to prevent escape of air from the latteruntil the cap-head 19 is engaged and forced downwardly against the action of the spring.

The air-cylinder 14 is provided with a perforation 27 in its top through which a pistonrod 29 passes and which latter is provided with a head 30, designed to tightly fit the inner walls of the air-cylinder, there being a helical spring 31 arranged within the aircylinder between the upper face of the pistonhead and the top of the cylinder, the spring encircling the piston-rod 29. An upwardly-directed arm 32 is disposed at one side of the flanged head 33 of the air-cylinder and is provided in its upper end with an eye or perforation 34, in which is pivoted, by means of an insulating-pivot 35, one end of the contact-lever 36, which latter is also provided with a perforation intermediate its ends, whereby it may fit over the upper end of the piston-rod 29, the free end of the contact-lever 36 extending through an opening 37 in the upright 38, arranged opposite the arm 32 and which upright is provided with lateral ears 39 and 40, each having a bindingpost and contact-point 41 and 42, respectively, the said contact-points being de signed to cooperate with. the free end of the contact-lever in its raised orlowered position, whereby the electrical circuit may be made and broken through the respective wires 43 and 44, there being another electrical wire 45 connected, by means of a rivet or the like 46, to the contact-lever 36 near its point of pivot, as clearly shown in the drawings.

Connected in the bottom of the air-cylinder 14 ata point preferably opposite to the connection of the nipple 13 is a valved air-inlet nipple 47, to which is connected a nut-union 4S, connecting at its opposite end with anf other nipple 49, arranged in the end of a hosepipe connection 50, leading to a suitable airtank. (Not shown.) The valve 47"0f the nipple 47 regulates the air-supply.

Inorder that the degree of pivotal movement of the contact-lever 36 may be adjusted, the upper screw-threaded-end 29 of the piston-rod 29 has upper and lower pairs of adjusting-nuts 51. and 52, respectively, it being obvious that when the pairs of nuts are adjusted toward and away from each other f upon the screw-threaded portion 29 of the i piston-rod 29 the degree of movement of the contact-lever 36 will be decreased or increased according to the adjustment of said nuts. Of course the opening 37 in the arm 33 is of sullicient diameter to permit of proper movement of the free end of the con tact-lever and that the opening intermediate the ends of the latter is somewhat larger than the diameter of the piston-rod 29.

From the foregoing it will be understood that when air enters the bottom of the cylinder through the inlet-port 47, which is of a smaller diameter'than the outlet-port 13,

some of the air will pass through the hosepipe connection 9 and into the valve-cylinder 3, forcing the valve-head 21- into close engagement with the top of its casing to prevent the escape of air through the enlarged opening 17, surrounding the stem 18 of the valve-cap 19, while other air will force the piston-head 30 upwardly into the cylinder 14 against the action of the spring 31, causing the pair of nuts 52 to contact with the under surface of the contact-lever and raise the same into electrical communication with the contact-point 41, which is its normal position and where it is held in electrical communication with a station at-a distant point until the wheels of a train (not shown) contact with the cap-head 19, consequently forcing the valve-head 21 downwardly against the action of the spring 26 and exhaustingthe air from the valve-casing, the hose-pipe 9, and the air-cylinder 14, permitting the contact-lever 36 to break from the contact-point 41 and drop into engagement with the contact-point 42, closing a circuit .and warning an operator or other person at some distant point of the location of the particular train contacting with the capvalve 19, it being seen that the pair of nuts 51 contact with the upper face of the contact-lever 36 upon the dropping of the piston 30 and positively pull the contact-lever downwardly therewith. Af-

ter the train has passed (the track-valve then being closed) the air-pressure is gradually increased in the cylinder until it again raises the piston and the contact-lever to its normal position, together with the valve-head 21, within the track-valve casing 3. It will thus be seen that the device is automatic in operation. In practice the hose-pipe connections 9 and are armored and different elements insulated from one another where es sential, and it will be seen that in order to prevent air accumulating in the air-cylinder 14 above the piston 30 there is provided a small outlet 54 in the top of the casing. It will be seen also that by reason of the peculiar formation of the under face of the cap-head 19 the downward movement of the valvestem 18 is limited, for it engages with the cor respondingly upwardly-formed end of its valve-casing.

In order to make and. break a series of circuits, I construct the contact-lever somewhat differently from the form of contact-lever 36, heretofore described. This modifie-dform of lever is shown in Figs. 6 and 7, wherein it willbe seen that the lever 36 has wings a and 6 formed upon opposite sides thereof intermediate its ends, the end 0 of the lever being adapted for hinged support in the uprespectively to each of the wings a and b of the contact-lever 36 are pairs of flexible contact-strips h and i. It will beobserved that the strips h and i are, by reason of the fasteners g, which are properly insulated, spaced from the contact-lever 36 and project through the slot j of the bracket f, as does also the bent endd of the lever 36. The strips are provided each With a contact is for engagement with the corresponding upper and lower contact-points Z and m of the bracket f. These contact-points e and Z and m are of the binding-post variety, so that wires n may be connected thereto, so that separate circuits may be opened and closed at distant points upon operation of the contactlever 36. This contact-lever is provided with a central perforation 0 for engagement upon a piston in the same manner asis disposed the aforesaid contact-lever 36. It will therefore be understood that the only difference in this form of the invention over the first form described is that provision is made for making and breaking a series of circuits.

WVhat is claimed is 1. In an electropneumatic railroad signaling apparatus a track-valve, an air-cylinder, a communicating passage between the trackvalve and the air-cylinder, the latter having an air-inlet, and a contact-lever pivotally associated with the air-cylinder.

2. In an electropneumatic railroad signaling apparatus, a spring-actuated track-valve, an air-cylinder in communication with the track-valve, a piston arranged for reciprocation in the air-cylinder and having a spring associated with the air-cylinder, the aircylinder being provided with an air-inlet.

3. In an electropneumatic signaling apparatus, the combination with a railroad tie and rail, of a track-valve associated with the rail, an air-cylinder in communication with the track-valve, said aircylinder having an inlet-port, a piston arranged within the cylinder above the air-inlet port, a spring associated with the piston, an arm associated with the top of the air-cylinder, an upright associated with the air-cylinder, and a contact-lever pivotally mounted in said arm and associated with the piston and the said upright whereby electrical communication may be made and broken upon contact With the track-valve.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ARIO'OLA L. CARPENTER.

Witnesses:

. ALLIE B. LEAVITT, ELMER P. SMITH. 

